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B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India
B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India
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B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India
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   *This image is copyright of its original author Katezari male  *This image is copyright of its original author Katezari male again  *This image is copyright of its original author Wagdoh's aggression  *This image is copyright of its original author
Shivaji sighting after 3 years of absence from the Tiger Tourism World?
Shivaji – The Boss March 2, 2015Wild Encounters Tadoba, Tiger A full moon rose as the drone of cicadas filled the air, it was an unusually quiet night. I was experiencing my first ever ‘Solo travel’, a term that I was introduced to recently. “Was this a bad call?” I asked myself in complete disbelief. Shalik, an eco-tourism maestro at Tadoba had hosted me in his office for a 6 night stay. Yes, you read that right. Since I was travelling on a shoe-string budget, staying in his office space located at the fringe of the tiger reserve was my best bet. Just a few minutes before my game drive the next morning, I was told by one of my rather intelligent friends that I should visit Kolsa range instead of the most-famous Telia. It made complete sense to go-for-it as I had an entire jeep for myself that day. Without having to share it with anyone else, I could make my decision of choosing my route. Besides, I had the next five days to explore Telia in any case! My driver Nitesh and naturalist Nilkanth were in complete disagreement, they prophesized a higher probability of ‘seeing’ tigers at Telia. But, I was adamant. True to all the ‘warnings’ that I had received, Kolsa was less touristy, in fact it was over 30 minutes into the park and I had seen no other tourists at all! It was just me, the driver and our naturalist in the jeep. Quite honestly, it was the most boring game drives ever –the forest was dry, with absolutely no animal moment. The drive was so boring that I fell asleep in the jeep until I was woken up by the sound made by rustling of leaves. The first thing I saw when I opened my eye was a huge leap made by a male spotted deer. Slowly but surely my eyes were shutting off again, as I kept wondering what made this deer leap.  *This image is copyright of its original author The next thing I remember is Nilkanth’s hushed voice calling out “Tiger!Tiger!Tiger!”. For a moment, I thought he was pulling my leg as he had seen me dozing off in the safari jeep! But soon Nitesh started backing up the jeep, that’s when I realized that they were not teasing me. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and tried to see in the same direction as was Nilkanth. There it was – the majestic master of orange and black sitting amidst the bamboo tickets, in slush – a typical tiger habitat that you would read in the books. Without even thinking about the angle or settings on my camera, I made a couple of burst shots, a typical behavior seen in most amateur photographers. Of course it is logical as one would fear that the tiger would melt into the jungle soon.  *This image is copyright of its original author Out of pure curiosity, I stopped shooting and glanced at Nilkanth, wondering what goes through a naturalist’s mind after spotting the game. He seemed more excited than I was. At that point, I decided to ask him what was on his mind. Nilkanth had recognized this tiger as Shivaji. “Shivaji is the biggest tiger in Kolsa zone ma’am, no one has seen him in a very long time. I had feared the worst for him. But today, I am extremely happy to see my Tiger in good shape” he said. Just these three sentences, made me acknowledge the fact that not only was Nilkanth passionate, but also factual, observant and connected to individual tigers in a way you and I cannot imagine! Shivaji sat there for over 30 minutes, altering his actions between cleaning his paw, yawning and staring at Nilkanth – it seemed like they shared a deep connection. But soon my fear displaced this pleasant feeling as Shivaji suddenly rose from the dark slush making his gigantic physique apparent. As if that was not enough, he gave a deafening growl which almost punctured my ear drum! To get a better view, I was standing on the last seat of our three compartment jeep. I turned around to tell my driver to back-off the jeep as I saw Shivaji’s walking with a deliberate slow gait towards our jeep.  *This image is copyright of its original author But to get a “better” picture of Shivaji from his mobile camera, my jeep driver had left his seat and moved to the same seat as I was! Sure, I have seen tigers before. But this day was different; imagine just 3 of us in a jeep with no driver in his seat, and this huge guy staring at us from just about 15 feet. All he had to do was one big leap and he would be with us in the jeep. No way we could have made it that day, had Shivaji decided to attack us. There is only little that you can do in such situations, and I resorted to “Hanuman Chalis” that day.  *This image is copyright of its original author “Take good pictures madam” I heard a voice, I wanted to beat up whoever said that. I could barely hold my camera. I was trembling with fear, the battle of nerves had begun.I clearly remember at that point I was clinching Nitesh’s shirt and begging him to leave. Now that I am alive and writing this, you all can probably guess that he did not jump into our jeep instead he chose to walk away from us elegantly.  *This image is copyright of its original author I looked at Nitesh and Nilkanth with a sigh; I still don’t understand why they were laughing at me. I managed to calm myself as I saw Nitesh go to his assigned seat. Before, I could speak he started backing the jeep with a quest to follow it – How brave are these people I thought to myself. Instead of showing my appreciation for their brave act I decided to resent the idea of following it. Although at that point, I quoted “Let’s not disturb Shivaji” as the reason, I am convinced that it was mainly because of my underlining fear.I am sure, although the boys didn’t express they must have thought of me as a “Fool” to let go of such an opportunity of tracking Shivaji. But honestly, I had had enough!  *This image is copyright of its original author As we moved forward we saw a jeep coming from the opposite end, it was the only other jeep I had seen in my safari that day. It also was carrying a single guest , but I deemed he was a regular guest. Nitesh and Nilkanth greeted him. What surprised me was these first few words from him “I am looking for Shivaji”. It was then that I realized about Shivaji’s fame. Nitesh briefed about the direction in which Shivaji moved and how scared and non-cooperative I was to follow him. I sincerely hoped that this guest got a glimpse of the mighty Shivaji too. If not like what I experienced, something better! As I returned to my “office-stay”, I called my friend wondering if I had to thank him or yell at him for suggesting Kolsa. But, it sure was an experience that I had to share! https://thegreencompasstgc.wordpress.com.../#comments from the information I obtained recently, Shivaji was no longer ruling the Kolsa range but this new sighting is kind of off.. I commented on the page to verify if it is indeed a recent sighting.
Unknown male from Kolsa range trying to mate with a tigress, Isn't this saturn's boy?
pause at 0:33 for facial markings and at 0:35 again for left profile  *This image is copyright of its original author It's gotta be him, look at the facial markings and the stripes on his body. and as for the female, I think that's rajani (Shivaji's daughter) (Pause the video at 4:08 for left profile stripes)  *This image is copyright of its original author what do you think, rage221? here's also shina, sister of rajani.  *This image is copyright of its original author the other daughter of Shivaji but her stripes don't quite match with the female in the video..  *This image is copyright of its original author Tanmoy DasSanctuary Asia Follow · 3 hrs · Smiling tigress (sub adult) Feb_2015 — at Bandhavgarh National Park  *This image is copyright of its original author "Tigress from Kabini"According to Hindu Puranas “The Tiger is a Thread that holds all the other Pearls of the Forest together" How true. Off late we are hearing reports of increase in number of Tigers in Karnataka. Even though I am elated by this news, I am skeptical to celebrate the success for the following reasons: 1. The increase in Sighting of Tigers, Leopards and Doles can be a result of shrinking habitat. 2. If the Increase in number of Tigers is a cause for celebration then where is the place for the New Tigers to establish their territory? 3. Is there a Corresponding increase in the Green Cover (forest area) and Prey? 4. Since their numbers are increasing there are bound of be "Man Animal” conflict. In such a case how do we resolve them??? As the saying goes “Hope is The Last to Die"  *This image is copyright of its original author Ragini KulkarniSanctuary Asia 4 hrs · Telia Cubs Tadoba 2013 Born Free..  *This image is copyright of its original author Teerth DeySanctuary Asia March 8 · born to be free and roar !!!!.. to quote "Jim Corbett” Tigers, except when wounded or when man-eaters, are on the whole very good-tempered...Occassionally a tiger will object to too close an approach to its cubs or to a kill that it is guarding. The objection invariably takes the form of growling, and if this does not prove effective itis followed by short rushes accompanied by terrifying roars. If these warnings are disregarded, the blame for any injury inflicted rests entirely with the intruder"-  *This image is copyright of its original author Kalpak SawlikarSanctuary Asia Follow · 19 hrs · Two brothers and one sister A complete family Of Scarface Waghdoh and madhuri Feb 2015 — with Abhishek Deshmukh, Abhishek Yergude, Kamlesh Thakur, Harshad Matale, Nikhil Tambekar and Mihir Kothari.  *This image is copyright of its original author 
Mastigudi Male
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Waghdoh Male  *This image is copyright of its original author Gauri from Tadoba  *This image is copyright of its original author Water Buffaloes from Kaziranga  *This image is copyright of its original author A composite image compiled from 6 frames as T-19 (Krishna) crossed the Rajbagh Lake using the fallen tree as a natural bridge.  *This image is copyright of its original author
It's the end of the robe for Gabbar aka Leopard Face male tiger, another fight with Katezari male and another serious injury with heavy limping.
In 1975, a very famous Indian ‘Bollywood’ film was produced named ‘Sholay’, a Hindi action-adventure film that follows two criminals named Veeru and Jai who were hired by a local policeman to chase after a villain named ‘Gabbar’ in the southern state of Karnataka. This classic award winning film is ranked in the ‘Top 10 Indian Films’ of all time. I have not seen the film but will have a look one day soon..!  *This image is copyright of its original author “Gabbar’ – male tiger with a ‘radio collar’ and severely injured in a small pond near the main road in the park…! However, this story is not about a villain, but a beautiful mature male tiger named ‘Gabbar’ (also known as ‘Sherkhan’ or ‘T-7’) in Tadoba Tiger Reserve in the State of Maharashtra. In December 2014, he was tranquilized and then fitted with a radio collar to track his whereabouts and behavior by researchers from the ‘Wildlife Institute of India’. Recently, ‘Gabber’ got into a fight with another male in the park that was witnessed by many on-lookers and severely injured. I have heard from a reliable source that he was in numerous fights with a bigger male and was swiped across the muzzle after the collar was fitted. It is without doubt that collars on male tigers or leopards hamper and prevent them from proper breeding, and they usually lose out to stronger cats without the heavy tightly fitted collar. It is quite possible that he is unable to hunt large animals now and may not survive into the near future…!  *This image is copyright of its original author A close-up showing his injuries – what a sad looking sight…! On my last safari during late afternoon in Tadoba on March 9th-2015, I bumped into ‘Gabbar’ lying in a pool sleeping not more than 100 meters from the main road. I stayed there observing him for more than an hour about 50 meters away. He eventually lifted his head very slowly and sadly looked up at me in the jeep. I was using my Nikon D3s and a 200-400mm VR II attached with a 2X tele-converter to get a close-up shot of him. I was devastated to see the extent of his wounds and it looks like he is very sick with fever probably from infection. If any of those researchers who are responsible for this tiger read this; you must (should) get in there and re-capture him immediately, and remove the collar and treat his wounds if you have any compassion for wildlife. He looked very sick and may not survive this ordeal. Please do not hesitate, as his death would certainly be on your hands in the name of science. Data gathered by these people is not worth the demises of even one tiger; they are now too rare in the wild for this collaring practice to continue with any real outcome in the field of wildlife conservation, or protection and enforcement of the protected area.  *This image is copyright of its original author Choti Tara’ female on the road in late morning…! Furthermore, there is another female named ‘Choti Tara’ also fitted with a collar in Tadoba in December 2014. It was observed by some people at the lodge I was staying at that a researcher with an antenna following the female gave pertinent information to some drivers where she was going. A group of some 20 jeeps then rushed off in a cloud of dust to wait for her to reappear at the other side of the forest. This is total madness and certainly will give the researchers and park a bad name, and must be stopped now…! I feel that the ‘Spirits of the Forest’ let me photograph ‘Gabbar’ to reveal the serious situation he is in. I’m hoping that a concerted effort will be undertaken to save this magnificent cat from bereavement, and maybe I played a small roll in his continued survival. He certainly deserves more respect than what he is getting at the moment, and the trauma he is going through needlessly. To the ‘Wildlife Institute of India’ and the Forest Department of Tadoba: PLEASE ACT NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE..! Source: http://brucekekule.com/photography_abroa...onal-park/  (03-16-2015, 09:09 AM)'Roflcopters' Wrote: Recently, ‘Gabber’ got into a fight with another male in the park that was witnessed by many on-lookers and severely injured. I have heard from a reliable source that he was in numerous fights with a bigger male and was swiped across the muzzle after the collar was fitted. It is without doubt that collars on male tigers or leopards hamper and prevent them from proper breeding, and they usually lose out to stronger cats without the heavy tightly fitted collar. It is quite possible that he is unable to hunt large animals now and may not survive into the near future…!With all the respect that "Bruce" (the author of that webpage) deserve, that is pure CRAP! The collar has nothing to do with fights, wins and looses among tigers. This tiger Gabbar loosed against a bigger male, so it is logical to conclude that the other male would win. Blaming the radiocollar is silly and even pathetic. There is a HUGE quantity of evidence that prove that radiocollared tigers breed perfectly, males and females, and if they loose against other tigers, it has NOTHING to do with radiocollars. This "Bruce" should learn about the studies made in Nepal and Nagarahole, for example. The Sauraha male was radiocollared in 1974 and up to 1979 he never losed a fight with the radiocollar on it! In fact, he monopolized the breeding in Chitwan during its kingdom. The two "young" males from Nagarahole (T-03 and T-04) survived very well with the radiocollars, with T-03 that died from natural causes (killed by a gaur) and T-04 became a territorial male. Although I am agree that radiocollaring tigers for tourism, which seems a BAD practice in some parks, is simply futile as it doesn't have any scientific purpose, he can't blame the radiocollar method based on this, attacking a good method without any real evidence. The blame goes to the people that makes bad use of the method, not the method itself. "Bruce" should learn this, before to make comments like this.
Sad to see, but its natural.
We all know how you feel about collars compared to me, but this is another example of what the collars do to a tigers mental state. Some tigers can handle it better than others, some turn aggressive towards man, some become shy, and some it really doesn't seem to affect. But it is obviously a bad and irresponisible practice since there is proof right there with Gabbar, who immediately became shy and elusive, skinny and lost his territory and possibly his life with in 6-9 months after being collared. This story is all to common and nothing new. Collaring is a pointless practice and serves up no info that camera traps couldn't provide.
There is no evidence that tigers are been "affected" in they "mental" state by radiocollars.
The case of Gabbar could be caused by many other factors like age or health, something that has been completely ignored here. There is plenty of evidence in Nepal, Nagarahole and Panna, that radiocollared tigers kept a normal life, reproduce perfectly and hunt without any problem. The case of Gabbar MOST be studied instead of just blaming the radiocollar or the method itself. I have say it many times, the method of radiocollar is one of the most powerful tools to understand cryptic species like the tiger and has provided over 70% or more of modern knowledge about tiger biology, ecology and sociability. Like has been show, camera traps are unable to show all this aspects as they show only one small glimpse about the tiger life, but never show the context of the situation about what happened in that moment. Only long therm monitoring can do this, and then is where radiocollars are useful. You most see the full panorama, if you want to "blame" someone, blame the people that misuse the method, not the method itself, which has been the best tool to know and understand tigers.
Yes there is, T42 for one is the most defining proof there is.
Turned man eater and jeep chaser immediately following his capturing and collaring. Gabbar is already quoted by photographers who watched him grow from a cub to adult have also stated his attitude change since the collar was placed. I don't think we really need to get into this debate again, since there is tons upon tons of evidence of all the benefits you stated about collaring all being provided by Camera traps, GPS tracking, infra red, sonar etc. All used without any stress put on a single tiger or any other species for that matter. Corridors found via camera trap. Amur family traveling together found via Camera trap. New animal species and density found via camera trap. Individual Tiger treks of unheard of distances found via camera trap. (Jai) Big Cat density Prey density Migration patterns and herd density etc. All found via camera monitoring or any of the other methods stated. 
Regardless, Gabbar's face has been made to like Wagdoh's. Cuts like that often spell doom for the animal due to infection, there needs to be human help at this point. Hopefully someone provides good news soon.
I don't think it's the issue of Radio-collars at all, Tigers do absolutely fine with radio-collars as Guate mentioned. However, I think the issue on hand is the "drugs" used during the tranquilizing process. Dr.Ullas Karanth knows this better than anyone.
Check the link (below) for Dr.Ullas Karanth Controversy. http://www.asiannature.org/sites/default...cience.pdf and from the Russian side (below) Siberian tiger threatened by mystery disease Conservationists say an epidemic is destroying the big cats' ability to hunt and turning them into potential man-eaters  *This image is copyright of its original author A mystery disease is driving the Siberian tiger to the edge of extinction and has led to the last animal tagged by conservationists being shot dead in the far east of Russia because of the danger it posed to people. The 10-year-old tigress, known to researchers as Galya, is the fourth animal that has had a radio collar attached to it for tracking to die in the past 10 months. All had been in contact with a male tiger suspected of carrying an unidentified disease that impaired the ability to hunt. "We may be witnessing an epidemic in the Amur tiger population," said Dr Dale Miquelle, the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Russia director. Galya had recently abandoned a three-week-old litter of cubs and come into the town of Terney looking for an easy meal. Following a series of all-night vigils by researchers, attempts to scare the tigress away failed. She was reported to the Primorsky State Wildlife Department as an official "conflict tiger", and a state wildlife inspector was called in to destroy her earlier this month. "This tiger had lost its fear of humans – typically Amur tigers will never expose themselves for observation. It was like seeing someone you know turn into a vampire," Miquelle said. Scientists are attempting to understand what compromised the tigress's ability to capture wild prey, which she had lived upon almost exclusively since birth. Her cubs, which were subsequently found dead at the den, are likely to have had their mother's disease transmitted to them through the placenta. "Initial necropsy results show an empty digestive tract, which is highly unusual. We're still waiting for results of further tests, but the abnormal behaviour suggests disease, possibly neurological," said Miquelle. "We are extremely concerned about the possibility of an epidemic that could be sweeping through this region. Animals we have studied extensively, and known well, have demonstrated radically changed behaviour, which is extremely disconcerting." Weighing only 91kg at death – down from an estimated 140kg at full health – the tigress's death represents the end of an 11-year lineage of related "study" tigers, and leaves the WCS's Siberian Tiger Project with no radio-collared animals for the first time in 18 years. WCS Russia has tracked more than 60 tigers since inception in 1992. In March this year, Miquelle raised the prospect of disease as a potential threat to an already endangered Siberian tiger population. The Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program reported in October 2009 a possible 40% decline in numbers since the last full survey in 2005, from 428 to as little as 252 adult tigers. The tiger's range has been reduced to a small pocket in the corner of the country within the region of Primorsky Krai. Speaking at a conference in Vladivostok, Miquelle said that anything above a 15% mortality rate in adult females could kill off all Amur tigers. With around 150 adult females in the population, any more than 22 deaths of adult females per year may wipe out the species. Poaching accounts for about 75% of all Amur tiger deaths, with 12 to 16 adult females killed annually. "We're in a new era where disease could seriously affect the Amur tiger." The Russian draft federal tiger conservation strategy has recently been amended to take account of disease, including a section on vaccination against canine distemper, a viral disease which is common in the Russian far east in domestic dogs and cats. "The addition of disease-related deaths to existing sources of mortality could push this population over a tipping point," said Miquelle. The federal strategy, which is being designed by a number of scientific groups including WCS Russia, is being prepared for the first global Tiger Summit due to take place in St Petersburg this September. Along with World Bank president Robert Zoellick, Vladimir Putin is due to preside over the conference. WCS Russia hopes to recommence the capture of study tigers in September. "We aim to change the focus of why we study tigers, with a new emphasis on disease," said Miquelle. "The only consolation in this grisly process is that, for once, a serious threat is not originating from human actions, although even that, for now, is open to debate." • This article was amended on 24 June 2010 to correct the source of figures on tiger decline from Wildlife Conservation Society, Russia to The Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2...extinction |
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